The Ceremony
by KaoruTheRandomBookworm
Summary: Three, Four?, old friends visit hogwarts for a very special ceremony, but before it starts they take a little trip down memory lane. Hopefully they can pull themselves away to actually get ready and show up on time.
1. Old Friends

James walked into the Great Hall and took in the site around him. He had finished school here at Hogwarts a few years ago and standing here, in the Great Hall, brought back a lot of memories. He looked around at all of the decorations that had been put up for today's event. There were light green and pink decorations all around the hall. The tables that usually sat the different houses of the school were no where in sight, but the benches were set up in the hall in two rows, facing the front, much like pews of a church.

It was summer time and no student was left in the school, making Hogwarts a great place to hold today's ceremony. James walked to the front of the hall and sat on the first bench. A few seconds later, he heard the doors behind him open.

A light chuckle filled the hall, "Feeling reminiscent, James?" a voice asked behind them.

James laughed with the voice and without looking back he said, "It's been a while since I've walked through this castle, that's all, Padfoot." He looked back and took in the sight of his friend. Sirius was wearing dark jeans that look aged and a plain black, wrinkled tee shirt. "Nice of you to dress up for today," James joked.

Sirius let a hearty laugh ring around the Great Hall, "I still have hours to get ready, James. As do you."

For the first time, James noticed that Sirius kept one hand tucked behind him. "What do you there?" James asked.

Sirius pulled his hand out and showed James what he held.

James smiled, looking at his old invisibility cloak, "How did you ever get your hands on that, Sirius? I had given it to Dumbledore."

A mischievous look filled Sirius's eyes, "He won't miss it for the moment. I thought you'd want to explore with me. For old time's sake?"

"I don't think we exactly fit under that anymore, Sirius."

Sirius gave James the look of a beaten puppy, those eyes were the type that got whatever they wanted. James stood up and walked over to his friend. Taking the cloak from Sirius hands, James laughed, "Fine."

The doors to the Great Hall opened once more and a voice said, "Well, wherever you to plan on going, you better be planning to take me with you."

"Remus!" Sirius and James exclaimed together. Then, James shook his head, "Now I know that none of us will fit under this cloak."

"Now now now James," Sirius said, eyes full of laughter, "No need to call our friend fat."

Lupin and Sirius laughed together. "Come on James, old times sake..."

James sighed, but he pulled the cloak over his head and invited the other two men under.

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**A/N**

**I hope that this is a good first chapter. It just kind of came to me this morning. **

**Please review**


	2. A Chat With Sir Nicholas

James, Sirius, and Remus didn't look in a mirror before they set off through the castle, but James was sure that they were visible from their knees down. This fact was just about proven in various ghost stopped to stand and stare. You'd think that living in a magic school, where strange things happened almost everyday, would stop them from being surprised so easily.

Nearly-Headless Nick stopped in front of the three friends and laughed. "Shouldn't these days be behind you James?" He laughed again, "And let me guess, Remus and Sirius?"

The three friends laughed also, "You know us too well Sir Nicholas. We are just reminiscing. The old cloak just doesn't fit the way it used too," James said.

Sir Nicholas nodded slightly, "I won't take up any more of your time. But before you go, I here congratulations are in order James?"

James, who had pulled the cloak off of him and his friends to speak politely, nodded. "Yes, tonight is the night we..."

Sir Nicholas nodded, cutting him off, "Yes, Yes. I know." He winked, "Just take care and have fun tonight." Sir Nicholas dipped his head slightly in a bow and floated away.

Sirius pulled the cloak over his friends and himself and pulled them into a walk once more.

"Is this really necessary, Padfoot?" Lupin asked. "We obviously aren't hidden very well."

Sirius stopped and thought for a moment. "How about a came of hide and seek?"

James and Lupin could only stare at him. "Sirius Black we are grown men," Lupin scolded, but laughed at the thought.

James thought for a second, "I'm in," he said. "How are we going to play?"

Sirius pulled off the cloak and handed it to Lupin, "You take this Moony. James and I will change into our other forms and we'll work like that."

James shook his head, "How do you expect a large stag to hide?"

Sirius laughed, "The same way a large black dog can hide."

Lupin stared at the cloak in his hands. "Doesn't this give me a leg up? I'll be invisible and you too will be large, very noticeable animals."

Sirius shook his head. "It evens out well. James and I will be able to cover much more ground as animals, moving faster. And you will have to walk at a normal pace, but you will be invisible."

Lupin could only laugh, "What has gotten into you today, Padfoot?"

"The feeling of impending doom?"

James hit Sirius on the shoulder, "That better not be a joke about..."

Lupin raised his hand to cut him off. "Who's going to be "it" first?"

When no one answered Lupin sighed, "How hard can finding to animals be? I'll go first.

Sirius laughed a deep and hearty laugh, "Very hard, this is a very big castle you know."

"What is out of bounds?" James asked.

Sirius thought a moment, "Old school rules, don't go into the forbidden forest and you can't go to the old hiding place in the shrieking shack. Stay off the Quidditch Field, other than that, the school is open for hiding."

"All right then. Let's go, boys." Lupin said. He threw on the invisibility cloak, backed into a corner behind him, and loudly started counting.

He heard hooves fading away to one side of him, and to the other side, he heard one happy farewell bark. Lupin chuckled lightly to himself, fun night indeed.

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**A/N**

**Though I love the idea of this story, it may take a while between updates. For some reason, I am having a lot of trouble concentrating on this story. But I promise, I know where I am going with it and I know how it will end. It just may take a while for me to get there.  
Despite the fact I can't concentrate well on this story, I hope it is up to par. Thanks for reading and please review. **

**-Kaoru**


	3. Let Your Hair Down

Lupin stood in the corner for a few moments after he counted to fifty. Has he given them enough time to hide? Should he yell that he's coming? Would they even hear him?

Lupin sighed, "I am a grown man." Standing tall, the invisibility cloak now fully covered him, he threw his shoulders back and with all the dignity he could muster he yelled, "Ready or not! Here I come!" Trying to hold back his sudden need to laugh, he stepped out of his corner and glanced both ways down the corridor. James, it sounded, had chosen to leave the castle and go outside. Sirius, on the other hand, had chosen to go upstairs. Feeling that it would be easier to go after Sirius, Lupin turned and started up the stairs.

After getting his foot caught in two different trick steps and having the stairs change direction on him more times he could count, Lupin decided the easiest thing to do would be to make his way to their old common room. As he was climbing the stairs, he wondered idly if he needed a password even though it was summer. Then he wondered if the Fat Lady would even be there, what if she was on a sort of vacation? Would he be able to still get in?

Finally, he stepped into place before the large portrait of the Fat Lady. She was indeed there alone with two or three other friends who were all talking quietly amongst themselves. One person, he noticed, was the Fat Lady's old friend, Violet. He poked his head out of the invisibility cloak and looked on at the people in the portrait.

"Excuse me," he said lightly, as if it wasn't odd for his head to be floating there. "Could you tell me if a large black dog had come by here?"

The Fat Lady eyed him suspiciously but Violet, on the other hand said, "Is he yours? Came barging through here. Honestly, a dog? Dogs shouldn't be in the castle. He came running at the us and we had to trap him in there behind us so he wouldn't cause any damage. We were just about to go looking for someone to take care of him."

Remus had his answer, "Do you mind if I go in? He is mine and I just lost him for a bit...I'll take care of it."

The Fat Lady gave a tight nod and swung forward. Pulling the cloak back over his head, he stepped into the large common room. It seemed smaller than he remembered but that may have been do to the fact that he was much older than the last time he had stepped into this room. The fire wasn't lit, as it usually was during his years at school, causing the room to look worn and old and only slightly creepy. Remus made sure to take slow, shallow breaths, not wanting Sirius to here where he was if he indeed was in the room.

After checking to make sure Sirius wasn't behind the chairs or in any corner, he made his way up the stairs to the boys' dormitory. He searched through the first six rooms and made his way to the last one, taking each step slower and slower than the last. He slower turned the knob and stepped into the 7th year dormitory. It looked like all the others but the feeling in the air was tense. It's hard to hide that you are there when a door mysteriously opens on it's own.

Lupin stood in the doorway for a few moments when a great back dog jumped in front of him and tackled him. Within seconds, the cloak was off of Remus's face and the dog was licking his face. "UGH! PADFOOT! YOU WIN! YOU WIN! GEROFF ME! PADFOOT! WE ARE GROWN MEN! PADFOOT!"

The dog got off Remus and started running around him in circles, jumping up and barking happily. Remus stood up and dusted himself off. "Honestly Sirius, can't you act your age?"

Sirius barked once more and pulled on Remus's robes with his teeth. "I know, I know...I'm coming...SIRIUS!" Sirius was napping Remus's ankles, trying to get him to hurry and when Remus yelled at him he let a whimper. "I'm coming Sirius...just...hang on..." Remus picked up the cloak and wrapped it over his shoulders, letting his head show. "Let's go get James now, shall we?"

Sirius and Remus made their way down to the first floor, passed through the Great Hall and out the doors. They stepped onto the grounds and looked around. Almost immediately Sirius took off toward the lake. Remus jogged after Sirius thinking the same thing. If James was out here, he would be by the lake.

The lake was James's favorite place to be and sure enough they found him, sitting on the shore, staring at the water.

"Getting worried, mate?" Remus asked when he reached James. James, still in stag form, pawed the ground anxiously. "Don't worry, mate. After tonight, it'll all be okay." James looked at Remus and tilted his head down, which Remus took as a nod.

Sirius ran in a circle around James and nipped one of his ankles. James reared up and started to chase after Sirius. Whenever James was able to touch him they traded, with James running and Sirius chasing. Remus laughed but shook his head at this game of animagus tag.

"Seriously, am I the only grown man here?" Sirius slid to a halt and changed back to human form.

"Technically...I was a dog," he smirked.

"And I was a stag," James said, returning to normal.

James and Sirius looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Must I always be the responsible one?" Remus inquired.

"I dunno, Remus, maybe you should just...let your hair down," Sirius hooted, shaking his own shaggy head at Remus.

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**a.n.**

**And just like that, our little hide and seek game is over. Hmmm. What's next? you may ask...Hmmm. Well...how about a little fun with Peeves? **

**Of course the fat lady and violet thought that the dog was just a dog...Remember that no one knew he was an animagus except James, Remus, and Peter...until the Prisoner of Azkaban when Dumbledore was told. And then others found out at the end of the Goblet of fire. **

**Also, I just realized the mistake I made in the timeline. Dumbledore wouldn't have had the invisibility cloak yet. He didn't get the cloak until after Harry's first birthday, right before James and Lily died. But let's ignore that fact, shall we?**

**Please Review.**


	4. Fun With Peeves

The three friends walked into the entrance hall all laughing loudly. From above, they were pelted with water balloons.

"Agh!" They yelled as the water hit them.

A loud cackle filled the hall. "My oh my, look who it is!"

James, Sirius, and Remus glanced up at the ceiling and saw everyone's least favorite poltergeist, Peeves.

Sirius looked at his two friends and smiled. "Do you know what I've always wanted to do?"

Remus lifted his eyebrows at Sirius and James replied, "I'm sure I have an idea."

Together Sirius and James pulled out their wands and pointed them at Peeves.

"What are you guys going to do?" Peeves cackled as he threw more water balloons. "Magic isn't allowed in the corridors."

Remus turned to Peeves and a smug look crossed his face. "Actually Peeves, I believe that only applies to students. We haven't been students for years, and it's summer, so I don't believe the same rules apply."

Peeves's eyes widened in mock horror. "Oooh, and what are you going to do them?"

James and Sirius smiled at each other and said, "Petrificus Totalus!"

Peeves fell out of the air and the water balloons crashed around them. Remus stepped over to Peeves and looked down on him. "I didn't think that would work on a poltergeist," he laughed.

Sirius waggled his eyebrows, "Let's have some fun with him while we can."

James smiled, "Locomotor...poltergeist?" James sighed in relief when the spell worked and Peeves was lifted off the ground. "What should we do with him?"

"Give him a taste of his own medicine..." Sirius smirked.

Remus shook his head but Sirius and James had already conjured water balloons, ink bottles, and various other throwable items. Sirius picked up some water balloons and James took some ink bottles in his hand.

"Ready, Prongs?"

"Ready, Padfoot."

Sirius threw the balloons at Peeves and James poured the ink onto Peeves's head.

Remus shook his head and stood back. "Two against one? And not just one, an unable to defend self one. Honestly, am I the only one that has grown up?"

Sirius laughed, "I'm not sure you were ever really young, Moony." Then Sirius waved his wand and the ink bottles and other throwable items disappeared. In it's place, thirty buckets of water balloons appeared. Ten were in front of Remus, ten in front of James, and ten in front of Sirius.

Remus looked down at the water balloons and then back up at Sirius. "What is this about Sirius?"

Sirius bent down and picked up a few water balloons. "It's time you were young for once, Remus," and he threw a balloon that hit Remus square in the chest.

For a few seconds, Remus and James did nothing. Then James pocketed his wand and bent down, looking at the water balloons in his hands. He started to laugh and threw a balloon at Sirius.

"Honestly..." Remus started before he joined into the water balloon fight.

Still in the middle of the hall, Peeves was hit by many water balloons. By the time all of the balloons were gone, James, Sirius, and Remus were soaked through. They fell laughing onto the floor, which was also covered by a thin layer of water.

"I have an idea," Remus laughed. "Let's release Peeves and let him join in."

"Us against him?" Sirius asked.

"No," Remus said. "Every man for himself."

James and Sirius smiled at each other. "Glad to see your loosening up," Sirius said.

Remus nodded, "That is...if we still have time," he said, glancing sideways at James.

James looked down at his watch, "Yeah, I have time..."

"Excellent," Sirius breathed.

Smiling, the three friends stood up and Remus pointed his wand at Peeves. "Finite Incantatum," he muttered. Peeves was freed and he glared at the friends, blowing a raspberry. "Peeves," Remus said through a smile, "I insist that you join us." Remus waved his wand and conjured more water balloons for everyone.

Peeves looked at the water balloons for a few minutes and after being sure that this wasn't a trick he cackled and threw a balloon, starting the new water balloon battle. Peeves floated high above the wizards and dropped the balloons from above. James and Sirius kept throwing the balloons into the air, attempting to hit Peeves. Remus found it far more easier to use 'Wingardium Leviosa' to make the balloons fly and chase Peeves around the entrance hall.

"Accio broomstick!" James yelled, willing to use the old broomsticks provided by the school. Mounting the one that arrived, James a bucket of balloons on the end of the broomstick and began to chase Peeves.

After about ten minutes of the water balloon battle (the buckets long since enchanted to refill themselves), the doors to the Entrance Hall opened and a shadow filled the doorway. Before he could stop himself, James let one more water balloon slip from his fingers and it hit the figure on the side of its head. At the abrupt ending to their battle, Peeves looked around, noticed the new arrival in the doorway, and flew off cackling. James landed next to Remus and Sirius and they stood before the person, who waved his wand which caused the remaining water balloons to fly up and drop over the three friends.

"Hello Albus," Remus said after the water balloons stopped.

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**A/N**

**Lol. The fun is about to be over. Just a few chapters left. **

**Please review. **


	5. Add Peter

Albus smiled, "Do you three know what day today is?"

James looked down at his feet feeling like a student being reprimanded by his headmaster. "Yes Albus," he said.

"So tell me why you are playing games and making a mess of my entrance hall," he said as took in the the dripping hall and the three friends.

Remus waved his wand and the hall was cleared of water. "We just thought it'd be nice to have a little fun before..."

Albus held up his hand. "James, don't you think it's a bad time for all of this considering..."

"I know, Albus," James said. He looked down at his watch, "We'll go get cleaned up." Albus nodded and turned to enter the Great Hall.

Sirius looked at his friends and smiled. "I call the prefects' bathroom," He said as he dashed up the stairs.

After the three had cleaned up, they walked back up to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Taken care of the dog then?" Violet asked when she noticed Remus approaching.

Sirius smirked at the portrait. "Oh yes, it was very hard to reel him in, but we don't think he'll be destroying more portraits any time soon. He's very ferocious, hopefully he won't get loose...I do hope I've tied him up tight enough."

Violet's eyes widened and the fat lady shook her head, "I'm sure he's joking Vi. This here is Sirius Black, quite a trouble maker in his day, and out at all hours, too."

Sirius laughed heartily. "Yes, that's true. Well, you two can hope I'm joking, but..."

"Can we go in?" Remus cut in.

"Yes, of course," the Fat Lady said as she swung forward.

James, Remus, and Sirius stepped into the common room and Remus said, "Must you play with their minds, Sirius?"

Sirius only shrugged and chuckled to himself.

"Do you two whether Wormtail is coming today?" James asked.

"I suspected he would be here by now," Remus replied. "You told him that it was today, right?"

"Of course I told him it was today, Remus." James said, exasperated. "He never seems to be around when he should be."

Sirius nodded, "I'm sure he'll be here before the ceremony."

"He always shows up in the end. He probably just lost track of time. You know how he is," Lupin said.

James nodded weakly, "Yes, I'm sure he will. I just need to know when to expect him." The door to the common room burst open and a short, stout man walked in.

"Well well well, speak of the devil," Sirius chuckled under his breath.

"So, I'm not late then?" Wormtail huffed.

James looked down at his watch, "We have about thirty minutes before it's time to go downstairs and start bringing people in."

"So not late?" Wormtail glanced around nervously.

"No," James said, his voice slightly impatient, "You couldn't have arrived at a better time."

"Oh, good good. Is my stuff here?"

Remus glanced around the room and spotted some bags by one of the arm chairs by the fire. "Over there Wormtail," he said, nodding toward the chair. The four friends dressed into dress robes in a quiet tension. James, Sirius, and Remus stood and joked together, while Peter stood in the background angling his arms away and tugging at the sleeves nervously.

"I guess it's about time we go down," James said, looking at his watch, walking through the portrait with Remus and Sirius leading the way to the Great Hall.

Peter nodded weakly to know one and stumbled out following slowly behind, listening to their conversation.

"...The first of us James, but you were always the leader of the group," Sirius chuckled to himself.

James laughed nervously, "Yes...I guess you can say that."

"Probably the only of us..." Remus muttered softly, "Well...unless Peter..." he glanced over his shoulder.

Peter shook his head fiercely, "Oh no no no..." he muttered.

"Hey...What about me, Moony?" Sirius said.

Remus laughed loudly, "Right, Padfoot.

Sirius looked hurt for a moment and then laughed, "You're right."

The three friends stepped into the Great Hall and saw that it was beggining to fill with people.

The light green and pink decorations were everywhere and they made him feel more certain about what was going to happen.

"FRANK! ALICE!" James greeted enthusiastically. "I wasn't sure if you were going to be able to make it...not after..."

Frank shook his head, "Wouldn't miss it for the world, James. Congratulations."

Remus smiled as he walked away from James and saw two other faces, "Hello Minerva, Hagrid."

"'Ello Remus. How's James holding up?" Hagrid said as he turned his head to find James.

"I'd say he's holding up very well. Mingling along the guest..."

"Excellent, excellent."

James, Sirius, and Remus continued to greet various people while Peter stood in a corner, watching everyone around him.

Moments later, Albus Dumbledore emerged from the antechamber at the back of the Great Hall, behind where the staff table usually was. "It is time to start," he said quietly, his voice commanding the attention of the room as usual. He stepped sideways out of the doorway after James took his place in front of the large crowd. Standing where he stood, hiding in the darkness of the doorway, stood someone else, and James face broke into a wide smile.

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**a/n **

**one more chapter after this one. Sigh, where does the time go...**

**Please review**


	6. The Ceremony

Lily was more beautiful than James could've pictured. She was wearing a light green dress that brought out her eyes perfectly. She had beautiful eyes. Her hair framed her face perfectly with slight curls that could only make her more beautiful. No matter how everyone joked about today, this was the proudest moment of his life. He had done a lot of great things in his life, but James couldn't think for one second what may be able to top this. Then she smiled, and it only succeeded in accomplishing what he thought was impossible. She looked even more beautiful.

James was vaguely aware of the music starting around him. He only barely noticed the balloons swelling around him as the music crescendo. The only thing he was aware of was that Lily was walking slowly toward him, her soft expression given away by the excitement in her eyes. As she was moving he noticed that her hair and dress blew back as if she were walking against a slow breeze and one side of his brain wondered whose idea it was. He would like to thank them for that.

The balloons around him stopped inflating, and Sirius leaned over from his spot next to James to whisper something to him. James didn't hear it, but the smile on Sirius face told him it wasn't something James would have to kill him for. Sirius looked serene. As if he could think of nothing better to do than to be the best man of his best friend's wedding a thousand times over. James stole a glance a Remus, never fully taking his eyes off Lily, and Remus looked the same, just as serene, just as happy. When James tilted his head slightly, he noticed how nervous Peter looked, and realized he had looked like that since he arrived. James pushed the thought from his head and made a mental note to inquire about it later.

Lily was next to him now, and when he looked into her eyes, he realized just how much he wanted this. He knew before, of course, but this was better than he could've imagined. It was almost too good to be true. Almost. Even as wizard presiding the wedding began to speak, the spell was not broken. "Do you, James Potter, take Lily Evans..."

"...I declare you bonded for life." The wizard waved his wand over their heads and a drizzle of rain fell upon them, never quite getting them wet. The rain caused a silver mist to twirl around them, pushing them closer together. They kissed each other lightly and pulled apart, staring into each others eyes, showing the world there is no place they would rather be but here. They both looked up when Sirius began the soft clapping and the balloons around them burst open, green and pink fireworks rained down and a thousand golden snitches flew around their heads. James gripped Lily's hand with one of his own and lazily grabbed one of the snitches from the air, presenting it to her.

She laughed lightly as she took it and kissed him in on the cheek. Sirius laughed as pictures were taken, flashes coming from every direction. He put his arm around James's shoulders and smiled broadly at Lily. "Welcome to the Marauder's Lily..." he said to her jokingly.

Lily jutted out her lip a bit and pouted, "I thought I was already a marauder..."

James, Sirius, and Remus laughed along with her after she said this and the wizard who presided cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Ladies and Gentlemen!" he called. Everyone quieted down to a hush and everyone stood up as their chairs were pushed to the sides of the hall. They walked toward their chairs, and James and Lily moved to the center of the Great Hall as a soft song began to play. James took hold of Lily's hands and Lily looked up into his eyes. Together they danced slowly for a minute before others began to join them. The fact that others were dancing around them didn't seem to penetrate their senses. To each other, there was only the other as they danced together. Someone had enchanted the snitches and they seemed to weave in and out of the crowd, dancing to the music. The fireworks were still bursting over head.

As James and Lily were dancing, Remus stood watching them and waved his wand slightly without anyone noticing him. A group of snitches in front of him began to glow a bright gold and the made a tight circle, almost becoming one but each still it's one entity. He waved his wand again and smiled as they flew over, hovering above Lily's head. They were her personal halo, and he could tell that James loved the effect.

From the other side of the room, Sirius was doing his own wand work. As they danced, wind blew around James and Lily, breaking them off from the rest of the crowd. The wind danced around their feet and slowly lifted the newlyweds into the air. It was only them, the center of attention. Their silent dance above being watched from the people on the ground. Sirius smiled to himself, knowing that neither of them noticed they were in the floating above the heads of the rest of the party.

Sirius glanced around and walked over to Remus when he finally found him. "Peter?" Sirius asked him quietly.

"Gone," Remus replied, shaking his head. "I wonder what's going on with him. I don't think it matters much though. James and Lily won't notice he's gone. They haven't yet noticed where they are. Was that your work?"

Sirius nodded, "And you created the halo?"

Remus smiled. "We're good people, me and you, Sirius."

"We just want what's best for them. And we will make this the best party, won't we, Remus? For them," Sirius smiled to himself again as he waved his wand again. Rain started to fall around James and Lily again, creating the silver mist and causing them to glow. The mist never touched them, if it had it would've broken their spell, and the mist never touched the floor, if it had, it would've disillusioned the rest of crowd.

"For them..." Remus waved his wand again, phoenix feathers and Rose petals falling softly and slowly around everyone. The party oblivious to the two marauders waving their wands endlessly, creating the perfect setting.

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**Author's Note. **

**The official end of this story...The feathers and petals may be a bit much...but it seemed right. **

**I hoped everyone enjoyed this story and will read my others. **

**Have a good day all, **

**Please review. **


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